Unlike some other NBA superstars, Allen Iverson did not have an easy path to greatness. Growing up in Hampton, Virginia, young A.I. had to live in a challenging environment and a neighborhood surrounded by poverty and violence.
As a kid, Iverson, who was known in his hood as “Bubba Chuck,” was also subjected to drugs. However, his dream and determination were way stronger than any bad influence around him. To this day, Allen takes pride in being able to overcome such a difficult chapter of his life.
“It was just tough. You know, just trying to stay out of trouble and just stay on a positive path. It seem like most of the negative things that were going on, in my neighborhood, was the right thing to do,” the 2001 NBA MVP said in the 2014 documentary, “Iverson.”
“I was just running in the streets, hanging with guys that were 12 and 13 years old, sniffing cocaine right by the dumpster, I’ll never forget it,” he recalled. “And they say to me like, ‘Here, Chuck, hit that, hit that, hit that.’ I was like, ‘No, man. I’m gonna be an NBA basketball player, I’m gonna a professional football player.'”